


Wishing and Hoping

by Star55



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, Girl Direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21945994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star55/pseuds/Star55
Summary: Tonight. Harry is going to do it tonight. She's going to tell Louis that she's in love with her and has been for the last ten years.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 87





	Wishing and Hoping

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. This is my gift to you. And to me. Because I love it.
> 
> A massive thank you to Emma for the last minute beta read and Brit-pick, I couldn't have done this without you. I love you. ♥

If Harry had had her way, there wouldn’t be Christmas decorations around at all. 

Not that she has anything _against_ Christmas, of course, it is one of her favourite holidays, but Christmas _Eve_ should be _all_ about Louis and Louis alone. So the only decorations that should be around, in her mind, are birthday decorations.

There’s a mixture of both, but she hopes her huge _Happy Birthday Louis!_ banner makes up for the fact that there’s Christmas decorations adorning the walls.

She’s focusing entirely _too much_ on the decorations, she thinks. Especially when she should be focusing on the fact that any moment now, Louis is going to be walking through the door to her own flat and into her surprise party.

It hadn’t been too much of a hard task getting Louis out of her flat – Harry just had to ask Jay for help and she was only too eager to swoop in and take Louis out for a few hours – long enough for Harry to decorate and set up for the party. With the help of friends, of course. Because although Harry is nothing if not organised, there are some things she just can’t do by herself. 

Thankfully, their friends were there to help, too. The decorations had been put up while the cake was baking in the oven and then while it cooled, which gave them plenty of time to make Louis’ flat a bit more birthday-festive.

“Shh, they’re coming!” Niall hisses in a decidedly _not_ quiet way.

The lights are off, thankfully, and Harry’s pulse spikes in her chest. She doesn’t know why she’s so nervous. She took Louis out for a birthday breakfast this morning. It’s one of their traditions – birthday breakfasts. They’ve been the best of friends for ten years now – since their uni days, and every year they’ve made sure to go to breakfast together. 

But tonight. _Tonight_ is different.

It’s Louis’ thirtieth birthday and Harry is going to _finally_ tell Louis that she’s in love with her.

She’s nervous as fuck, of course. But it’s also something she desperately needs to get off her chest. She wants – no, she _needs_ Louis to know how she feels. Just in case there is a _tiny_ part of Louis that feels the same. 

The thing is, Harry has been in love with Louis since they first met. 

Harry was eighteen, and Louis was twenty, and they had literally fallen over each other. Harry likes to jokingly think that she _fell_ for Louis, but it’s not a joke, it’s actually true. Louis had caught Harry just before she went face first into the mud that she had just slipped on. Her strong arms caught Harry around the middle and even though it made Louis stumble a bit, at least Harry didn’t die. She’s a little clumsy on her feet at the best of times. Thankfully it isn’t as bad now she’s older, having had time to get used to her long legs, but back then she was a walking hazard.

After that day, they had become inseparable. It should’ve been odd – Harry a first year and Louis a third year hanging out, but it _wasn’t_. They weren’t even in the same course, but Harry had a couple of lectures that Louis had taken when she was a first year, so it was just another excuse to hang out.

Harry likes to think if Louis hadn’t met Macy just before she’d met Harry, they would’ve got together pretty quickly. But by the sixth time they hung out, Louis introduced Macy as her girlfriend and Harry felt her heart shatter in her chest. Sadly, it was the first of many heartbreaks.

She hadn’t expected Louis to have a girlfriend. Not with the way they spent so much time together, but she should’ve realised – Louis was a catch, after all. 

Since then, they’d never been single at the same time. 

Until now.

Macy and Louis had fizzled out before the end of uni, but by then, Harry had her first proper girlfriend, and she was smitten.

After each break up, they had consoled each other the way only best friends can, even though one of them was inevitably in a relationship with someone else at the same time.

It’s only been these last ten months that they’ve both been _single_ at the exact same time. 

Harry had wanted Louis to move in with her after her last disastrous break up, but Louis was adamant about ‘ _doing it alone, Harry. I’ve always had a girlfriend, I need to be independent_ ’. Which Harry respects, but she also thought that maybe they’d heal Louis’ heart together. Not in a romantic way, of course, Harry was first and foremost Louis’ friend, but she wanted to be there for Louis while she dealt with her broken heart.

But now. _Now_ things are different. Harry hasn’t had a proper girlfriend, or even a one night stand in almost two years. And she knows that Louis hasn’t been with anyone since she broke up with Claire, either.

So she _hopes_ with her entire being that _tonight_ is the night.

Either way, she’s going to tell Louis how she feels before the night is over.

And not just because Niall threatened to tell Louis for her, because she’s “ _fucking sick of hearing you mope about her, just ask her out already, Christ_.” Harry needs better friends.

The sound of the door turning jolts Harry back to reality – she needs to focus on the _now_. As in Louis is coming through the door right _now_.

“…Mum,” Louis’ voice says as she comes through the door. 

“It’ll be quick, I promise,” Jay says. Harry bites her lip, trying to keep her excitement inside of herself.

“Alright,” Louis says. She turns on the lights and then, in true cliché – every one of their friends, and various members of Louis’ family, jumps out from behind furniture and yells out “ _Surprise_!” so loudly that Harry sees Louis physically jolt. 

She places a hand on her chest, clearly not having expected anything, which makes Harry _so happy_. She can’t help but smile at Louis’ expression.

“What’s all this?” Louis says, smiling, her gaze finding Harry’s. Harry likes that she just _knew_ that it was her that had organised all of this. 

“Your birthday party,” Harry replies, closing the distance between them. She wraps Louis in a warm hug, that sadly only lasts a few seconds before the rest of Louis’ family and friends are moving to greet her.

Harry turns on the music and double checks the gifts table to make sure nothing is awry while Louis sees to her guests.

“Thanks for organising this, poppet,” Jay says, appearing at Harry’s side a moment later.

Harry beams at her. “Of course!” she says. “So she had no idea?”

Jay shakes her head. “Not at all,” she replies. “She thought the breakfast was enough from you, and that dinner with me was perfect.”

“I’m glad she had a good day,” Harry says. She looks away from Jay and her gaze immediately finds Louis, taking in her soft, easy smile, as she hugs one of her many sisters. 

She can’t help but stare – Louis is the only person in the universe who can Harry can just lose herself in just staring at her. 

“Did you make these?” Jay asks, interrupting Harry’s staring contest. She glances over and nods at Jay gesturing to the array of cupcakes all with little Doncaster Rovers colours, numbers, and one little jersey made from fondant on top.

“I did,” Harry admits, pride blooming in her chest.

“They’re fantastic, Harry,” Jay says. She pats Harry on her arm and squeezes her shoulder gently. “I’ll take some photos so Louis can see them before anyone eats them.”

“Alright,” Harry says. She’s already done that, but she’s not going to tell Jay that and ruin it for her. 

This entire evening has been planned for months already. Harry has been getting everything together as secretly as she can, which is hard when sometimes Louis likes to just show up and stay over and Harry’s trying to hide decorations and things all over her own flat.

But all of the almost getting caught is worth it, she thinks, as she sees everyone enjoying themselves. 

After a while, Niall changes the music, teeing up one of her own playlists. Harry doesn’t even have it in her to be annoyed. She’s had a couple of mulled wines already, and she’s feeling very mellow.

Harry is having a wonderful time. She’s danced with Niall and her wife, Zayn, and has stopped Ernest from sneaking a glass of mulled wine. How he managed to get _that_ passed Jay is beyond her.

“C’mon, Harry, let’s dance!” Phoebe says, appearing in front of Harry suddenly. She grins and takes Phoebe’s hand, letting herself be led to the makeshift dance floor area she set up.

They’re dancing up a storm and it’s only when Harry hears Louis’ laughter coming from somewhere behind her that she realises she hasn’t spent a single minute with Louis since she arrived. 

She tries to not let it get to her – Louis _is_ the birthday girl, after all, but she wants to spend _some_ time with her.

“Harry,” Niall says, interrupting Harry’s thoughts. “It’s time to bring out the cake.”

Harry nods. “Right,” she says. She follows Niall to the kitchen and carefully gets the cake she made out of the fridge. It matches the cupcakes she made – it’s decorated in Doncaster Rovers colours. And Harry had made a little fondant Louis to sit on top of it, a football at her feet. She wanted to do more, but she doesn’t have the _best_ fondant skills in the world and she didn’t want to press her luck.

“Alright, everyone!” Niall says. The music turns off, and the lights go dim as Harry lights the candles. She didn’t go for thirty individual ones like she had originally planned, but had gone for a few golden candles that just looked perfect. It felt right when she placed them on the cake.

“Today is one of my best mates’ birthday – Louis, you are incredible, and I absolutely love having someone like you in my life. Here’s to your dirty thirties!”

Cheers go around the room and Harry can see Louis ducking her head, smiling.

Niall turns to Harry and gives her an expectant look.

Harry licks her lips as everyone’s gazes turn to her. She hadn’t really planned on giving a speech, figuring that Niall and Jay would cover it, but…

“As most of you know, Louis is my best friend,” Harry begins. “She saved me from breaking my face in the mud when we first met, which was wonderful of her, really.” A few chuckles go throughout the room. “But since then, she has been there, by my side through thick and thin. She is the best friend a girl could ask for, and I don’t even want to think about how different my life would be if I literally hadn’t fallen over her on that day at uni.

“Here’s to you, Louis. I love you.” 

She raises a glass that was placed in her hand during her speech by Niall, and takes a sip. Everyone cheers, and then immediately they all break out into one of the loudest renditions of happy birthday that Harry has ever witnessed in her life. She spares a brief thought for Louis’ neighbours, especially since it’s also Christmas Eve.

Louis approaches the cake as the singing goes on, and once everyone has stopped singing, she bends over, blowing out the candles, a look of pure concentration on her face as she makes her wish.

Harry beams at Louis when their gazes meet after she opens her eyes again.

“Here’s the knife,” Harry says, passing it to Louis. Louis’ fingers brush over her own as she takes the knife off her. 

“This cake is incredible, Harry,” Louis says. She gives Harry a quick kiss on the cheek before she turns to face the cake, cutting it in a perfectly straight line.

After the initial cut, Louis passes the knife back to Harry, and she makes quick work of cutting into slices so everyone can have some. She makes sure that the little fondant Louis is kept safe and sound, though, she doesn’t want anyone to take off with it. She wants Louis to be able to keep that for herself, even if she doesn’t eat it. 

Once the cake has been handed out, the atmosphere relaxes. A softer playlist is going on the speakers, which Harry appreciates. She looks around, watching everyone enjoy the cake she made. She loves seeing the happy expressions on everyone’s faces.

“Alright?” Zayn asks as she approaches, gently nudging Harry with her shoulder.

Harry nods. “Yeah,” she replies, lifting another forkful of cake to her mouth. 

“Niall says you’re doing it tonight?” Zayn asks so casually that Harry starts to choke on her cake.

She quickly puts her plate down and picks up her water, taking sips to clear her throat. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” she hisses. “Niall needs to keep her mouth shut.”

Zayn smirks. “I’m her wife, we don’t keep secrets. But good luck, all the same.” She gives Harry a kind smile before she wanders off.

Harry takes a breath and sets down her water to finish off her cake.

Slowly but surely, everyone leaves, Jay, Niall, and Zayn being some of the last people to leave. Harry grabs some bin bags to clean up the mess, crinkling her nose at the squashed cake on the table. Thankfully, she had put down a plastic tablecloth. She’d hate to scrub that out of a fabric one.

The front door closes and Harry can hear Louis’ footsteps getting closer to where she is.

“I feel like I’ve hardly seen you all night,” Louis says, grabbing some paper plates and putting them into the bag in Harry’s hand. “Thank you for organising this.”

Harry smiles and shrugs a shoulder. “It was nothing.”

“You and I both know that’s a lie,” Louis says. “You went to a lot of effort. I appreciate it.”

Harry nods once and keeps putting rubbish into the bag. “You’re my best friend. You deserve an amazing party.”

Louis’ hand reaches out and squeezes Harry’s forearm gently. “I’ll go get some more bags.”

She disappears and Harry takes the opportunity to put on some different music. Now that Niall has gone, she can put on her birthday slash Christmas mix. Something she had created specifically for Louis’ birthday. She knew it wouldn’t get played earlier, but she’s glad she can play it now.

When the bag in her hand is full, Harry ties it in a knot and takes it to the kitchen. She leaves Louis cleaning up in the lounge room since there isn’t much left to do out there, and she clears off the countertops, trying not to let her face be a permanent grimace as she realises how sticky everything is and just how much work she has cut out for herself.

Before she can pull on her rubber gloves and scrub everything down, Louis calls out from the lounge room. Harry rinses off her hands and exits the kitchen, just as Louis is walking in. They both laugh as they get practically squashed together. 

They’re closer than Harry realised – she can feel Louis’ warmth from head to toe. 

“Oh,” Louis says, her gaze tilting upwards. “Mistletoe.”

Harry’s heart thuds in her chest as she glances upwards. She knows for a fact that she didn’t put that there. But there it is, stuck to the top of the door frame – an unmistakable bunch of fake mistletoe.

“You don’t have to…” Harry begins slowly.

“What if I want to?” Louis asks, her voice impossibly soft.

“What?” Harry barely breathes.

“What if I want to kiss you?”

Harry’s tongue darts out to lick her lips. “Do you?”

“Yes.”

The hesitation in Louis’ voice startles Harry. It’s then that she realises Louis is _nervous_. Her hand slowly lifts up, and she pushes Harry’s hair over her shoulder. Their gazes stay locked, and Harry can’t help but stare when Louis’ tongue darts out to lick her lips. 

The moment their lips touch, Harry sees stars behind her eyes. She’s almost positive that she stops breathing altogether as Louis’ lips move against her own.

She has wanted this for _so long_ now that it’s utterly surreal to her that it’s happening.

Then Louis’ mouth opens underneath her own and Harry’s knees give out. 

Thankfully, Louis’ reflexes are still as sharp ten years into their friendship as they were when they first met, because her arms slide securely around her waist.

“I’ve got you, Curly,” Louis whispers, a soft smile on her lips. 

Harry grins, she can’t help it. She ducks her head and rests it against Louis’ shoulder, settling in for a hug, instead. 

“And here I thought it was meant to be _your_ birthday.”

“Technically it’s Christmas now, love,” Louis says. 

That gets Harry’s attention. She glances up at the clock. “But I didn’t give you your present!”

“Sure you did,” Louis replies.

And before Harry can say anything else, Louis’ lips press against her own. She melts into Louis’ embrace, losing herself in the best damn kisses of her entire existence. 

Louis’ nose brushes against Harry’s own as they part, their faces still impossibly close. Harry never wants to be further apart from Louis ever again, not if she can help it.

Their lips keep meeting in smaller kisses, and Harry can’t help but feel giddy. She can’t believe that it’s _finally_ happened between them. After ten long years of being in love with Louis, she’s here. _They_ are here. She’s in heaven.

“Want to know what I wished for?” Louis whispers.

Harry shakes her head. “It won’t come true if you tell me.”

Louis’ lips brush against her own. The kiss is a little more heated than the others. Harry’s entire body tingles. “I wished for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi again. if you've got this far, i hope you enjoyed this fic. ♥  
> please leave me a comment if you liked it. i love comments so very much a lot. ♥  
> criticism, constructive or not, is not welcome.
> 
> rebloggable post on my [tumblr](https://star55.tumblr.com/post/189855040316)


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